Rockets aren't getting Van Gundy's message

Published 5:30 am, Thursday, March 18, 2004

Jeff Van Gundy
could sense the Rockets weren't getting the message even in the midst of their longest winning streak of the season. They weren't learning from their mistakes. They weren't improving.

Van Gundy pointed out their shortcomings in practices and during pre-game preparations. Even as he did it, he could sense what the players were thinking. Throughout the season, Van Gundy has gotten the impression the players believe nothing they do will ever be enough.

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"If you have higher expectations for a player or a team than the player or the team has for itself, then there's conflict. They would be right. They have a very good feel for me. Because when I've heard it, or read it, or sensed it, `Ah, man, he's not satisfied,' they are absolutely correct. And my question to them is: Why would they be satisfied?"

Van Gundy had an idea during the recent five-game winning streak that the Rockets' mistakes would catch up with them. And Monday, they did.

He didn't predict the Rockets' 99-97 overtime loss to the Phoenix Suns, but it didn't shock him when it happened. The Rockets had been pulling out victories recently despite repeating the same mistakes. Against Dallas, the Rockets overcame 30 turnovers. They defeated the Los Angeles Clippers despite 16 turnovers, and they narrowly upset Memphis after turning the ball over 13 times in the second half.

Phoenix didn't allow the trend to continue. The Rockets turned the ball over 27 times and suffered a home loss to the worst team in the Western Conference.

"What you need to do in basketball is learn as you win, not wait to lose to learn and correct," Van Gundy said. "That's what the good teams do.

"We were averaging 17.6 turnovers in the five-game winning streak. We had 13 in the second half of the Memphis game. So we chose not to correct our mistakes, and it cost us having 27 turnovers against Phoenix. So in the last 77 minutes we've played, we've had 40 turnovers. So if you only have the ball half those minutes, high 30s, you've actually had over one turnover a minute, which is pretty alarming."

Van Gundy obviously hopes the Rockets end that trend at Golden State on Friday during the opener of a three-game trip. Wednesday marked the first practice for the team since its loss to the Suns, and it was evident the defeat was still weighing on the players. They said, however, that they are learning from the defeat and want to avoid making the same mistakes against Golden State, which has the second-worst record in the West.

"It slipped," Cuttino Mobley said of Monday's game. "It's a game that slipped past us. Those guys came out with nothing to lose. When you play guys like that and you give them a little courage, it's crazy. We're a playoff-contender team, and a lot of these guys aren't, so they are going to come in and try to spoil it, and we have to know that when we go in and play hard."

The Rockets remain in good position to earn their first postseason berth in five seasons. To succeed in the playoffs, the team must still improve, however -- not only after losses but after victories, too.

While turnovers have been a problem throughout the season, the Rockets put together an impressive four-game stretch right before the winning streak started. In that span, the Rockets averaged only 11 turnovers per game.

Consistency, however, remains the team's biggest problem.

"Obviously, our capabilities are there," Van Gundy said. "But I think sometimes `fundamental' is a curse word. So you just have to keep it simple, sound and solid, and if you can do that ...

"My thing to them is I see more in them than they see in themselves. So I see a team that can do better. I'm not as concerned with winning and losing. That sort of takes care of itself if you play well."

Rockets summary

March sadness

While so much has changed in a year, the Rockets are in a familiar position. The last time they strung together a five-game winning streak was last year between March 5-16. They were in seventh place in the Western Conference standings and had only a handful of games remaining. The playoffs were within their reach.

Just like this season, the Rockets' winning streak ended in the sixth game, but it was under much different circumstances.

Last year's loss came against the Supersonics in Seattle. Coach Rudy Tomjanovich was in Houston resting after undergoing a biopsy on his bladder. It was the first game he missed because of medical problems. The team soon fell out of the playoff race, finishing the season by winning only eight of its final 17 games.

"Last year at this time we had a coaching change. Rudy had some medical issues that I think really hurt our team," Steve Francis said. "If we wouldn't have had that last year, I think we would have been in the playoffs. This year, we don't have that. We're coming down the home stretch, and hopefully we can finish it out like we weren't able to do last year."

Francis said last year's team was never able to adjust to Tomjanovich's absence. With different circumstances this season, Francis is hopeful the Rockets are able to maintain their position as a playoff team with 16 games remaining.

"Right now, we're at a point where everything is in place and we pretty much control what we can do, so hopefully we can continue to win," he said.

Ewing a candidate?

Former Georgetown standout Patrick Ewing has made it clear he wants to be a head coach. A vacancy that would seem to be of interest to Ewing opened Tuesday when the Hoyas fired Craig Esherick after a 13-15 season, the program's worst in 31 years.

While in college, Ewing led Georgetown to the 1984 NCAA championship and three Final Fours. He was named College Player of the Year in 1985.

But Ewing, a second-year NBA assistant, said returning to the collegiate scene is not his top priority.

"I'd prefer to be a head coach in the NBA, but I'm not going to keep my name out of anything," he said. "I'm very proud to be a Hoya, and I want to see the program back to where it deserves to be."

As soon as Esherick was fired, speculation began to circulate about whether John Thompson might return from retirement to regain the post he held for 27 years. Thompson resigned for personal reasons in the middle of the 1998-99 season. Ewing doesn't expect Thompson to return.

"You'd have to ask him that, but I think if he comes back, it would be in the NBA," Ewing said.

Injury update

Injured reserves Clarence Weatherspoon and Maurice Taylor both practiced with the Rockets on Wednesday, although coach Jeff Van Gundy would not give any indication whether they would be able to play Friday at Golden State. Taylor has been sidelined for one game, while Weatherspoon has missed two.

Cuttino Mobley hopes the two can benefit from the Rockets' schedule. The team has three days off between games.

"Actually, it came at a great time, but it didn't," Mobley said. "We needed them the other day, but they got hurt. But they have some time to rest, and it's not like game, day off, game, day off, game. These guys have at least five days to rest, so hopefully when Friday comes, they'll be OK -- cross your fingers."